Supporting Ukrainian institutions in enhancing resilience of the Ukrainian private sector

The new EU4Business SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project started its operations in Ukraine on 28 February. The objective of SMEPIS is to support the Ukrainian institutions in charge of economic policy-making. The project thereby seeks to enhance the resilience of SMEs in Ukraine during this very difficult period for the country and the private sector.

Ukrainian small business needs support to sustain the difficulties amidst the ongoing conflict and be able to continue providing jobs, goods and services. Furthermore, the project supports the Ukrainian government and NGOs and complements other EU-funded projects to prepare for post-conflict recovery and reconstruction. Ecorys, as the leader of the consortium, is implementing the project together with GIZ International Services (Germany), Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) Ukraine and CIVITTA Ukraine.

SMEPIS will be working closely with the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and other business support institutions to facilitate a better business environment and build more resilient ecosystems, particularly for SMEs. Specifically, this means improved business policies, lighter regulations, increased government to business e-services, stronger business support infrastructure and greater business integration into EU markets.

Despite the ongoing difficult circumstances in Kyiv, we are grateful to the over 40 participants who attended the kick-off meeting. The welcoming address was given by Chloe Allio (Head of Section of ‘Economic Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment’ of the EU Delegation to Ukraine), Oleksii Sobolev (Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine) and Valeriya Ionan (Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine).

For questions and proposals regarding project implementation, please contact Diliana Mitovska.